Mindfulness in Movement course


with Kira Schaffer


“Presence, Self-expression, Connection”

Details:

8 Weeks

January 16- March 5, 2020
Thursdays 7-8:40 pm

Whatlab
202 – 1814 Pandora St. East Vancouver

Fee $160 early bird price until Dec. 19, 2019
$175 after Dec. 19

Course Description

For beginners as well as experienced movers and dancers.

This class is based on the perspective that how we move influences the way we are in the world and vice versa.  Working consciously with our movement provides both insight into our patterns of behaviour and at the same time offers an opportunity to shift and consciously practice how we wish to live.

We will focus on developing greater freedom in our movement, increasing awareness of our sensations and perceptions while we move and deepening our experience of the pleasure inherent in moving the body. We will learn to notice and follow impulses as we increase our authenticity in self-expression and ability to be in the present moment.  We bring all parts of ourselves to the dance; physical, sensual, emotional, thinking, relational, and spiritual.

Enroll
Details:

8 Weeks

January 16- March 5, 2020
Thursdays 7-8:40 pm

Whatlab
202 – 1814 Pandora St. East Vancouver

Fee $160 early bird price until Dec. 19, 2019
$175 after Dec. 19

Course Description

For beginners as well as experienced movers and dancers.

This class is based on the perspective that how we move influences the way we are in the world and vice versa.  Working consciously with our movement provides both insight into our patterns of behaviour and at the same time offers an opportunity to shift and consciously practice how we wish to live.

We will focus on developing greater freedom in our movement, increasing awareness of our sensations and perceptions while we move and deepening our experience of the pleasure inherent in moving the body. We will learn to notice and follow impulses as we increase our authenticity in self-expression and ability to be in the present moment.  We bring all parts of ourselves to the dance; physical, sensual, emotional, thinking, relational, and spiritual.

Enroll

Classes will begin with a warm up designed to support a state of release, creativity and playfulness.  We will explore how our mind interprets what we sense and perceive while we dance, how we label and judge, and then practice more neutral and curiosity-driven ways of observing and sensing.  

We will then develop our “compassionate internal observer” to support greater self-awareness and to provide a supportive space for more authentic self-expression and exploration. We will explore how emotions and stress move through the body, and how these affect our movement, breathing and thinking.

By staying anchored to the simple pleasure of movement we will practice ways to allow emotions and experiences to flow through us. We will discover ways of releasing energy from the body and learn how to follow impulses within the dance that lead us toward self-discovery and transformation. Similarly we will explore ways to consciously invite wanted experiences into our dance and our lives, such as the experiences of joy, love, confidence, and ecstasy.

This course focuses on improvisational dance with some exploration of dance technique to help expand our range and also to guide us in ways that promote injury avoidance. The class material is very adaptable to a diversity of bodies and fitness levels.  The focus is not on how it looks but how it feels. We will be moving and dancing for most of the class time but will pause periodically to learn about various concepts, to write, and share in conversation what we are discovering.

KIRA SCHAFFER

Instructor/Facilitator, Professional Performer, Aerialist, Fire Dancer, Embodiment Researcher

As much as I love dancing myself, I love to watch others open to their creative potential and find deeper connection with themselves and their bodies. I adore watching a student drop inhibitions and allow their unique essence to reveal itself in their movement.

I see how in connecting with themselves, they become more available to connection with others. I feel honoured every time I am allowed to witness this opening in another, to glimpse more fully who we are in our beautiful vulnerability and strength; in the intricate simplicity of our humanity.

More about Kira: The birth of my passion for dance and performance took place in the welcoming and playful circus community surrounding the Public Dreams Society events and activities in Vancouver in 1998. Drawn in by the magic of larger than life characters on stilts and the primal connection I experienced dancing with fire, I was initiated into the world of performance arts. Over the next decade I undertook further formal training in dance, physical theatre and aerial acrobatics, and began a professional career as a performer.

In 2004 I founded Firebelly Performance Society a production company specializing in aerial dance, fire performance, stilt walking, roving costumed characters and site specific performance. Firebelly has performed at many corporate and public events, including the Vancouver International Dance Festival, the opening of the SFU Woodward’s campus in downtown Vancouver and multiple Olympic-related events in Greece, Italy and Vancouver.

Alongside performing I have always enjoyed sharing my passion for movement with others. I offer courses, workshops, and one-on-one coaching in a range of dance and circus modalities, Courses I have offered include: aerial dance, fire dance, performance skills, mindfulness in movement, dancing within natural ecosystems, site-specific dance creation, mixed abilities aerial dance, and guided meditation.

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WHAT PREVIOUS STUDENTS HAVE SAID… 

“Not only is Kira a spectacular vision to witness in motion, she has also taught me to slow down movement in order to articulate fine details. By learning to follow my body’s own leads, I have widened my range of improvised moves. Her wisdom has permanently shifted my enjoyment of dance.”— Jillian Deri

 

 “Kira is a kind, compassionate and thoughtful teacher. Kira creates and holds a safe and inclusive space for movers of all levels to feel not only comfortable, but brave enough to enter new territory. I have always thoroughly  enjoyed her sense of curiosity and play as it relates to the body and to dance. Thank you Kira!”— Tamara Unroe 

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